Towed vehicles or trailers are commonly coupled to towing vehicles to facilitate the transfer of items or objects, such as vehicles, boats, cargo, and the like. When a trailer is coupled to a towing vehicle, the trailer may commonly obscure the taillights and rear turn signals of the towing vehicle such that other motorists and pedestrians cannot readily observe the taillights and turn signals of the towing vehicle. Such a situation may present dangerous driving conditions for the drivers of the towing vehicles as well as drivers of other vehicles driving near a towing vehicle.
To alleviate such a dangerous situation, trailers may commonly be equipped with taillights and turn signals that are visible to surrounding motorists and pedestrians. To ensure that the taillights and turn signals of the trailer behave in accordance with the taillights and turn signals of the towing vehicle, the electrical system of the trailer may be coupled to the electrical system of the towing vehicle. In such an arrangement, the taillights of the trailer may illuminate when the driver of the towing vehicle applies the brakes, the turn signals of the trailer illuminate when the driver of the towing vehicle engages the turn signal, etc.
To facilitate the coupling of the trailer electrical system to the towing vehicle electrical system, it is common to utilize electrical connectors. Typically, one such connector may be secured to the towing vehicle and one such connector may be coupled to the trailer. Each electrical connector often includes multiple terminals, pins, sockets, or the like. The terminals, pins, and sockets may often be arranged to be mated so that the connector of the trailer may be coupled to the connector of the towing vehicle. Such a coupling will relay electrical signals from the towing vehicle to the lights positioned on the trailer.
When the trailer is not properly coupled to the towing vehicle, the electrical connector secured to the towing vehicle may freely hang from a rear portion of the towing vehicle. In such a condition, the terminals, pins, or sockets of the electrical connector may be exposed to a number of conditions that may cause damage or other such deterioration of the electrical connector. For example, the electrical connector may drag along the ground while the towing vehicle is driven, resulting in damage to the electrical connector due to abrasions, friction, impact with the ground, and other such wear and tear. In addition, the electrical connector may be exposed to the elements such as dust, debris, rain, snow, salt, and the like. Such exposure may lead to physical damage, corrosion, or other such deleterious effects to the electrical connector, particularly the terminals, pins, and sockets of the connector.